Did you ever wonder how Darth Maul acquired his incredible mastership in piloting space-craft and riding speeder-bikes? Was he a pilot before he became an apprentice? Do the inhabitants of the Star Wars galaxy have an extra aptitude for piloting-skills? Or is there some Sith driving-simulator?

Please mention the challenge in the title of your story (e.g. You Drive Me Crazy: The Sith-Infiltrator).

The title of your story should be the name of a vehicle, e.g. Sith Infiltrator, Chevrolet Corvette or Yellow Submarine.

There will be a Dark Lord of the past.
There has been a Dark Lord of the future.
One who will reveal the Sith to the Jedi.
One who balanced the Sith and the Jedi.
Darth Maul and Darth Vader.

Do you dare to bring the two together in one story? Will the future and past meet as Lucas never intended? This is the call for a new challenge: Let the two most prominent Sith Lords of the SW-movies meet and tell what came out of this encounter.

Will they fight? But if so, who? Each other or their master, Darth Sidious? Will they come to an peace-treaty? Perhaps in the way of medieval kings: sealed with a marriage?

Who is more Sith than the other, Darth Maul? Darth Vader? This is the motto of our second callenge: "Duel of The Faith" - the title of your story is for you to choose.

There are two versions of this challenge.

The first. Why shouldn't the parents of Maul have sold the boy to Sidious? Or could there be a custom on Iridonia of giving every third son of a family into the custody of an religious order? And, is it possible a juvenile Khameir is fleeing his family, but his mother is pursuing him?

Once upon a time there was a boy on the planet of Iridonia. Later he abandoned his Zabrak origin to become a Sith. But did his origin abandon him?

If you think you can answer this question our next challenge is for you.

The mother is the title of all stories of this set, but you can add a subtitle of your choice to describe the aspect of the relationship between the lost son and his mother you wish to depicture.

The second version follows more closely the guidelines Sue and Savage gave in their postings at the message board. The focus is a tiny bit narrower:

The official canon tells a lot disturbing things about Darth Maul's origin and rising. But the most disturbing might be the fact he is robbed from his family and his mother, by Darth Sidious, at a very early age. Do you think a mother will just sat back in grief after such incident? What does she do?

4: Bad Idea Crossovers

They infest the internet. We've all seen them. Some of us have even written them. They are Bad Idea Crossovers.

As a public service, we here at DEMB2 invite you to get it all out of your system in our patented Worst Crossover featuring Darth Maul Contest. And the best thing about it is that you don't have to write the entire story, just an introduction!

The rules are simple:

1. All entries must be less then 500 words (300 or less is ideal). This is an introduction to a story, not a full story itself.

2. You must clearly establish the following: what universe the crossover is happening in (i.e. someone else in the SW universe or Maul in another's), who the main characters will be, and the hint of a plot direction.

3. All entries must be original. Even if the crossover idea has been presented before elsewhere, your take on it must be entirely your own.

4. All entries should be rated no more than PG-13, although they may hint at the possibility of more adult themes. Please note, however, that if you are hinting at adult forms of behaviour, all involved characters must be over 18. Dora the Explorer may visit Mos Eisley, but she does not get jiggy with anyone.

5. Please use only canon characters from the respective universes.

6. You may make as many entries as you wish during the run of the contest.

A panel of judges (to be announced) will select the winning entry. They will be looking for originality of idea and presentation, skill of writing, and the presence of all the required elements. Judges may not submit entries for prize consideration, but they can present samples in a special "Exhibition Only" thread.

As an example, please read this , kindly provided by Darth Krispies. Here are the entries, so far.

So, all you writers and wannabes who have always wanted to try your hand at this but couldn't come up with an entire story, here's you chance to have a little fun and get a little practice.

Oh, and since it is a contest, there will be a prize - a Darth Maul action figure autographed by Ray Park!

The contest will run from today until October 31, and the winner will be announced by the end of November. Invite your friends from other boards to play along! Be the biggest geek on your block! (yeah, like you aren't already)

Please take a look at our editorial policy and email your story to us.